Former Pro Cyclist Admits to Selling Performance-Enhancing Drugs

LOS ANGELES, CA - A former professional cyclist who helped start the late-night bicycle event "Midnight Ridazz," which takes place throughout Los Angeles, pleaded guilty Wednesday to selling performance-enhancing drugs imported from overseas in violation of federal law.

Nick Brandt-Sorenson, 35, faces up to a year in prison and a $100,000 fine when he is sentenced July 20 on the misdemeanor count of introducing a misbranded drug into interstate commerce, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

His attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Brandt-Sorenson admitted selling a vial of erythropoietin, a hormone known as EPO that boosts endurance by increasing the number of red blood cells in the circulatory system, for $631 to an athlete in Colorado, according to his plea agreement.

In 2011, Brandt-Sorenson created the "Anemia Patient Group" blog "under the guise" of providing information about various performance- enhancing drugs and substances, according to the document filed in Los Angeles federal court.

In fact, Brandt-Sorenson sold Actovegin, a derivative of calf's blood which is not approved for any use in humans, EPO and other banned substances through his blog, according to prosecutors, who said the drugs were imported from online pharmacies in China and Europe.

Brandt-Sorenson, who currently designs cycling apparel for his namesake fashion line, is a multi-time California State Criterium Champion and was briefly ranked top 20 in the country, according to the company's website.

In 2012, the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency announced that Brandt-Sorenson had accepted a two-year suspension for an anti-doping rule violation. He is now retired from competition, according to his website.

--City News Service, photo via Shutterstock